FLEXIBLE RETIREMENT OPTIMISER USER GUIDE

FLEXIBLE RETIREMENT OPTIMISER USER GUIDE

CONTENTS 1. SELECT NEW OR EXISTING CLIENT... 2 NEW CLIENT... 3-4 EXISTING CLIENT... 5 SELECTING AN EXISTING CASE... 6 CREATE NEW ANALYSIS... 6 2. ENTERING CONTRIBUTION DETAILS... 8 INCLUDE INCOME WITHDRAWAL... 10-13 GUARANTEED INCOME OPTIONS... 13-14 3. REMUNERATION... 16 4. PRODUCT SELECTION... 17 PRODUCT FEATURES... 17 NEW INVESTMENT... 18 ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS... 19 PROVIDERS... 19 PRODUCTS... 20 5. RESULTS SUMMARY... 21 BESPOKING OPTIONS... 22 6. FULL ANALYSIS... 23-24 7. PRINT OPTIONS... 25 1. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

1. SELECT NEW OR EXISTING CLIENT Welcome Upon initially logging into, a user will arrive at our Welcome page. This page offers three options; create a New Client, access an Existing Client and Fund Research. This screen also provides details of which tools are available to the individual subscription. Selecting a New Client will enable the creation of a file containing a client s basic details. These details will be stored on the system and can be accessed when using any of the tools. The Existing Client option will bring up a library of stored clients. The client details can be viewed by clicking on the client name. From this point a user can choose to View Stored Analyses or Create New Analysis for a client. Selecting Fund Research will launch our fund filtering search tool. To learn more about how to use this tool, please see the Funds Functionality User guide. The current stage of workflow is denoted by the underlined title. Navigation through the workflow is controlled by Next and Back buttons. Input will be sense checked to ensure validity of the data before the process will continue. For example, if one of the mandatory fields is left blank, (mandatory fields are shown in yellow), the user will be unable to move to the next stage until that field has been completed. 2. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

NEW CLIENT The first step to creating an analysis is creating a customer file by inputting the client data as explained below. Yellow boxes are mandatory and must be completed before moving forward. FIELD Ref Title DESCRIPTION Insert your own reference if desired Select an option from the dropdown list. Please note that the system will validate the choice of title against the choice of Sex Forename Middle Initials Enter the client s forename Enter the client s middle initials if applicable Surname Enter the client s surname 3. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

Sex Select the sex of the client from the drop down list Date of Birth Employment status Marital Status Partner s D.O.B Enter the client s date of birth in dd/mm/yyyy format. This can either be entered manually or selected from the calendar Select from the drop down list Select from the drop-down list Enter partner s date of birth if relevant in dd/mm/yyyy format. This can either be entered manually or selected from the calendar Partner s forename Partner s Surname Partner s Sex Any Dependents Enter the partner s name Enter the partner s name Select the sex of the partner from the drop-down list Select Yes or No If Yes is selected, additional notes can be added to include details of dependents Attitude to Risk Select from the dropdown list If other is selected from the list, a free text box will become available Lifetime Limit Protection Health Status Notes Select from the dropdown list and enter the Lifetime Limit applicable Select from the dropdown list Any additional notes may be added and will be detailed within the report 4. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

EXISTING CLIENT Select the existing client that you wish to work with by clicking the client s name. For large client libraries the user can recall a client using the search function or by clicking on a column header to sort by column. Once the client details have been recalled the user can then complete a multitude of tasks. Delete Client removes all the information created for that particular client. Update Client Details enables editing of client information at any time. View Stored Analyses allows access to previous cases carried out for this particular client. Create New Analysis allows the user to create a new analysis type for a client. 5. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

SELECTING AN EXISTING CASE Click on the case to view or edit previously entered information. Alternatively, click on Create New Analysis to start a brand-new case CREATE NEW ANALYSIS Click on Create New Analysis to select an analysis suite. Select Pensions to access Income Drawdown. Click Income Drawdown 6. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

Click on Flexible Retirement Optimiser to enter the tool 7. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

2. ENTERING CONTRIBUTION DETAILS FIELD Calculation Date Projections Basis Growth Rate Type What is the current total value of your client s pension plan(s) to be used in retirement? Are regular contributions being made to the above plan(s)? Monthly Contribution Amount Are Contributions Indexed? Contributions Payable Until Target Age DESCRIPTION This will default to today s date but can be over typed or selected by clicking the calendar button Select Monetary or Inflation Adjusted. The Inflation Adjusted option will show the fund on today s prices. Select headline or adjusted rates. The full fund value to be analysed should be entered. Answer yes or no, as applicable. Enter the amount. Select the indexation from the drop-down list of options. The other option will allow you to type in an amount. Enter the age at which the contributions will stop. Enter future age to project forward to. ONS Life Expectancy can be used to estimate how long the client is expected to live until based on the client information entered. 8. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

INCLUDE INCOME WITHDRAWAL To include an income strategy, click on the blue plus and the below field will open up. Up to three different Retirement Strategies can be added and compared in the report. FIELD Name of Retirement Income Strategy Pension Commencement Lump Sum Age at which PCLS to be taken Is an Income Required? Income from UFPLS? DESCRIPTION Type the desired name into the box. The system will default to 25% of the fund value if the Max PCLS button is ticked. Alternatively, a different figure can be typed into the box or PCLS Previously Taken can be ticked. If no/partial PCLS is entered, the system will allow the income to be withdrawn via Uncrystallised Fund Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS). Type the age in here. Select Yes or No, as applicable. Selecting Yes to Income from UFPLS means the system will take 25% of each withdrawal tax-free, with the remainder being taxed at the client s normal tax rate until the full or remaining PCLS has been exhausted. Once the PCLS has been exhausted, the income will continue to be taxed fully at the client s normal tax rate. 9. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

Target Income Taken In Would you like to include an Annuity comparison? Selecting No to income from UFPLS means the system will take each withdrawal completely tax free until the PCLS has been exhausted, at which point the income will then continue being taxed at the client s normal tax rate. Type the age, gross or net income, and select the indexation for the income required. If the client requires different amounts of income at different ages, use the blue button in the corner to add another row. Select whether income is taken in advance or arrears. Select Yes or No, as applicable. If Yes is selected, options to Input Own Annuity Details or to use a Basic or Advanced Open Market Annuity will appear. Input Own Annuity Details allows the user to manually input an annuity quote obtained. FIELD Provider Type Partners Pension Indexation Full Pension Guarantee Period Annuity Per Annum DESCRIPTION Enter the Annuity Provider name Select either Single or Joint Partner Pension payable on death of the policy holder Use the drop-down list to choose the indexation. Choose Other to specify an amount. Period of time after death of the policy holder in which the partner will receive the full pension. Annuity available as per annuity provider quote. 10. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

Basic Open Market Annuity allows the user to obtain a quick quote annuity live from Assure Web ipipeline. Active Assure Web ipipeline user credentials need to be entered in Personal Settings User Settings. Complete the form and click submit, the system will return the best open market annuity available using 100% of the fund entered for comparison. Click Save. 11. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

Advanced Open Market Annuity allows the user to obtain an annuity live from Assure Web ipipeline via a common quote form. Active Assure Web ipipeline user credentials need to be entered in Personal Settings User Settings. When an income strategy has been completed the strategy will be displayed in the following way. To edit a strategy, click on the pencil. To delete the Strategy, click on the red cross. You also have the option to include any other guaranteed income or assets that the client intends to use in their retirement. This includes the state pension that the client will receive come state pension age. 12. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

If another guaranteed income is added, the below box will open up. This will give you the option to add a state pension, annuity, defined benefit or an other form of guaranteed income. FIELD Guaranteed Income Type Name Use System Assumptions Annual Income Amount Indexation Income Payable From Age Income Payable To Age DESCRIPTION Choose the type of guaranteed income from the dropdown list. Give a name to this income. When state pension is selected, there will be an option to use system assumptions. Alternatively, an amount can be entered manually. Enter the amount of income. Choose the indexation from the drop-down list. Enter the age that the income will start being paid. This will be prefilled if the option to use system assumptions was selected for state pension. Enter the age that the income will stop. Alternatively, select the guaranteed for life box. When entering a State Pension, you can Use System Assumptions which means the system will pull the clients state pension directly from the DWP forecast, OR you can Input Own at State Pension Age, allowing you to enter the exact amount the client will receive. If you include the state pension option, the system will automatically calculate your clients state pension age using their date of birth and gender, it is assumed the state pension income will form part of the required 13. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

target income. If an income is required pre-state pension age, the system will use full drawdown income up until this point, the state pension will then be used to form part, if not all, of your target income and any shortfall will be covered by drawdown. There is also the option to include any other assets that the client may wish to use in retirement. If this is selected, the below box will open up and the details of any assets, including pensions, bonds, collectives, ISA s, savings plans and also other investments. FIELD Plan Type Name of Asset Fund Value Valuation Date Any regular contributions? Monthly Contribution Amount Indexation Payable Until Growth Rates Estimated Annual Charge DESCRIPTION Choose from the drop-down list. Type the name of this asset. Enter the fund value. Enter the date or choose this from the calendar. Select yes or no, accordingly. Enter the amount of the contribution. Choose the indexation from the list, as applicable. Enter the age at which the contributions are payable until. Enter the desired low, mid and high growth rates. Enter the annual charge of the investment. 14. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

3. REMUNERATION Remuneration to be applied Select No if remuneration is not to be taken. Select Yes to add remuneration. FIELD Single Premium Fund Based Advance Fee Styles DESCRIPTION Enter an initial percentage and/or monetary amount Enter the Fund Based fee to be taken as a percentage and/or monetary amount of single and regular premiums Allows the user to be more specific about how the remuneration will be charged and the timing of the payment 15. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

4. PRODUCT SELECTION PRODUCT FEATURES If there is a requirement for a plan to have specific features they may be selected from the options shown. Only plans that meet these criteria will then be included in the results. You can view which plans are available with the selected features by clicking on the button to the right of Products Available: You can also save selected features as a template for future use by ticking the box Save as new template and giving the template a reference/name. 16. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

NEW INVESTMENT The investment options for the new plan can be selected as Specify Investments, Defined Templates, DFM Strategies or Plan Default Settings. See the Funds Functionality user guide for more details. When selecting a specific fund/template you can view which plans are available with your chosen investment option. The system will also show you which plans are unavailable based on the product features you have selected on the previous page. By hovering over the button, you can see exactly which feature is kicking this plan out of the results. 17. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS All types will be selected as default apart from Platform. The platform category is standalone and can t be compared against other types unless the fund functionality on the New Investment page has been utilised. Growth Rates for Analysis default to 2%, 5% and 8% but can be changed by overtyping. PROVIDERS By ticking Select all providers and Select all products at the top, all providers and products will be included in the comparison. Alternatively, you can pick one or more providers and products from the list. 18. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

PRODUCTS Dependent on how many Providers are selected, the page will continue down highlighting the products available for comparison. Products can be selected by ticking the appropriate boxes or by clicking the Select all products box. Greyed out plans are unavailable for the reason given below the plan. Existing Plan - Some provider s charges may be subject to a large fund discount. Where a proposed plan is identified as an Existing Plan, the effect of the total fund may reduce the charge applied to the proposed new product. In these circumstances there may also be a setup fee that is waived. The system will take an Existing Plan into consideration and reflect the charges accordingly. 19. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

5. RESULTS SUMMARY When the analysis is run, a list is displayed of all products selected for comparison. Use the Choose Income Strategy and Growth Rate drop downs to change the result set. The Reduction in Yield (RIY) will be displayed. This is not displayed when an income option has been included. Click on the table symbol next to each plan to display year on year results. 20. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

5. RESULTS SUMMARY 21. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

BESPOKING OPTIONS A plan may be bespoked on the results page to adjust the charges if they differ to those held as standard. Adjustments can be made by clicking on In order to bespoke the results, use the information below to assist with completing the relevant fields. FIELD Adjust Allocation Adjust AMC Lump Sum Fund Splits DESCRIPTION A positive value will enhance the fund. A negative value will reduce the fund to create an additional charge/fee Select positive to increase the AMC to add an additional charge/fee. A negative will reduce the AMC e.g. if the standard AMC is 0.9% an adjustment of -0.2% will make the charge 0.7% Select positive to enhance the fund. A negative will create a charge The fund splits option can be used when the system has been run on default settings. You are able to enter the Name, Split and AMC of the fund to be used. This will override the default fund used Once the adjustments have been entered click the Recalculate button at the foot of the page. The revised results will be shown and highlighted accordingly. To proceed to the full analysis, select a plan using the tick boxes on the right-hand side of the page and click Next. 22. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

6. FULL ANALYSIS Use the Choose Income Strategy and Growth Rate drop downs to change the result set. Guaranteed Income for Life graph shows the income that the member will receive from an annuity, as well as the additional income provided by the state pension. 23. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

6. FULL ANALYSIS Target Income Vs Actual Income graph shows the target income specified against the available income from the fund up to the target age. Effect on Fund Value graph shows the fund performance over the term up to the target age withdrawing the available income. Target Age Vs Available Income graph shows the level of income that can be taken from the available fund to maintain an income up to the target age. Effect on Fund Value graph shows the fund performance over the term up to the target age. Click Next to proceed. 24. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide

The Additional Notes box allows for free text, which will appear in the report along with the selected product charges. If an adjustment has been made to a product charge in the bespoking option, a reason for the change should be recorded here. The Analysis Label is optional. Any text entered here will appear on the report cover. This label can be used to identify a report when different versions have been produced. 25. Flexible Retirement Optimiser User Guide